Adjustable hand rail attachment for a bed and mattress



Oct. 28, 1969 o. HANNABERG ADJUSTABLE HAND RAIL ATTACHMENT FOR A BED AND MATTRESS 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1967 INVENTOR. ORRIN HANNABERG BY ATTORNEY Oct. 28, 1969 HANNABERG, 3,474,473

ADJUSTABLE HAND RAIL ATTACHMENT FOR A BED AND MATTRESS Filed Nov. 9, 1967 2 'Shee ts-Shee t 2,

INVENT OR. ORRI N HANNABERG ATTORNEY nited States Patent US. Cl. 5331 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hand rail attachment for a bed having a portion adapted to be placed under a mattress and having two hand rails, one of them extending part way along the side of the bed and projecting above the mattress, the other extending along the center of the bed and overlying the top of the mattress if it is a double size one. The various parts of the attachment are extensible so as to fit beds and mattresses of dilferent sizes. The attachment when removed from the bed and mattress can be used to aid a person in exercising his legs while holding onto the device with his hands.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention When a persons legs are paralyzed he needs help in being transferred from a wheel chair to a bed. If the bed is provided with side hand rails, the person may pull himself from the chair onto the bed by grasping the rails. The beds in hospitals are provided with side rails, but the domestic bed that is used at home is not so provided. I have invented a hand rail attachment that can be mounted on a bed and held in place by the mattress. The device can be used on double beds and then one of the rails will extend along the mattress center.

Description of the prior art The prior art discloses bed attachments in which portions of the devices extend under the mattresses such as the Patents Nos. 1,915,774, 2,722,693, and 2,904,799. The bed rail disclosed in Patent No. 3,290,701 shows the rail as being extensible. No patent sets forth an extensible hand rail attachment for a bed and mattress which can be applied to either a single or a double bed mattress. When the device is applied to a double mattress, one of the rails will extend along the middle of the mattress and be spaced thereabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of my invention is to provide an adjustable hand rail attachment for a bed and mattress that has a portion adapted to underlie a mattress and to support hand rails that extend above the top of the mattress. If the mattress is of a double size or larger, one of the hand rails will extend along the center of the mattress and be positioned thereabove.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described that can be removed from the bed and mattress and placed on the floor in a certain position so as to permit its use in aiding a person having paralyzed legs to grasp the sides of the device with his hands and exercise his legs by trying to walk.

The device is durable and efiicient for the purposes intended and is inexpensive to manufacture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the device.

FIGURE 2 is a similar view, but shows the device mounted on a double bed and receiving about one-half of a doubled bed size mattress.

3,474,473 Patented Oct. 28, 1969 FIGURE 3 is an isometric view of the device when used as a hand support for use by a cripple who wishes to steady himself while exercising his legs.

FIGURE 4 is a detailed and enlarged sectional view of a portion of the device in FIGURE 1 that is enclosed in the dot-dash oval portion designated by the numeral 4.

FIGURE 5 is a detailed and enlarged View, partly in section of a portion of the device in FIGURE 3 that is enclosed in the dot-dash oval portion designated by the numeral 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In carrying out my invention I provide an adjustable hand rail attachment for a bed and mattress that is made principally of tubing, certain tubing portions being welded together and bent into the desired shapes and other tubing portions having telescopic connections with the first tubing portions to permit adjustments to be made in the device for varying its size so as to fit a certain bed and mattress. Referring to FIGURES 1, 2 and 4, I disclose a base frame indicated generally at A. This base frame is formed from four frame sections shown at A1, A2, A3 and A4, in FIGURE 1. These frame sections are made up from tubings of two different diameters, the smaller diameter tubing having ends designed to slidably receive tubing of a larger diameter. Adjustable securing means, hereinafter described, is used for connecting these four sections together to form the base frame A of the desired size. I will now describe the four sections and show how they are interconnected.

The frame section A1 is constructed of the smaller diameter tubing while the frame section A3 is constructed of the larger diameter tubing. This could be reversed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The frame section A1, see FIGURE 1, has a longitudinally extending small diameter tubing 1 with an upturned portion 1a forming a rounded corner at 2. Two transversely extending small diameter tubings 3 and 4 have their ends welded to the tubing 1 and project therefrom. The tubing 3 has its end welded to the corner 2 and the tubing 4 has its end welded to the tubing 1 at 5 which is spaced from the corner 2. A vertically extending tubing 6 of the small diameter has its lower end welded to the tubing 1 at the juncture of the tubing 4 with the tubing 1.

The section frame A2, for the base frame A, see FIG- URE 1, is made from the larger diameter tubing and includes a longitudinally extending tubular member 7 that slidably receives the end of the tubing 1. The tubular member 7 is bent at right angles to form a rounded corner 8 and a lateral extension 9. A vertical smaller diameter tubing 10 has its lower end welded to the rounded corner 8.

The section frame A3 for the base frame A, see FIG- URE 1, is made from the larger tubing and it has a longitudinally extending tubular member 11 with a rounded corner at 12 and a laterally projecting portion 13 that extends from this corner. The open end of the laterally projecting or transverse portion 13 slidably receives the end of the transversely extending smaller diameter tubing 3. Another tranversely extending larger diameter tubing 14 parallels the tubing 13 and is spaced the same distance from this tubing as the transverse tube 4 is spaced from the transverse tube 3. The tube 14 is welded to the tube 11 at the juncture 15 so as to extend at right angles to the tube 11. The open end of the transversely extending tubing 14 slidably receives the end of the smaller diameter tubing 4.

The fourth section frame A4 is made of the smaller tubing and is L-shaped to form the lower right hand corner of the base frame A, see FIGURE 1. The tube forming the section frame A4 has a longitudinally extending portion 16, a rounded corner 17 and a transversely extending portion 18. The open end of the smaller diameter longitudinal tube 16 is slidably received in the open end of the larger diameter tube 11 while the open end of the smaller diameter transversely extending tube 18 is slidably received in the open end of the larger diameter and transversely extending tube 9.

The four frame sections A1 to A4 inclusive of the base frame A are adjustably secured together to vary the width and length of the frame to adapt it to the bed and mattress on which it is used. Any adjustable locking means may be used and I have illustrated one type in detail in FIGURE 4 which is an enlargement of the dot-dash oval 4 indicated in FIGURE 1. The end of the smaller diameter tube 4- is shown slidably received in the adjacent end of the larger diameter tube 14. A leaf spring 19 is disposed in the smaller diameter tube 4 and has one end 1941 welded to the tube. The free end of the leaf spring carries a detent or button 20 that projects through an opening in the tube 4 and is selectively receivable in any one of a row of open ings 21 provided in the larger diameter tube 14. The button 20 when received in any one of the openings 21 acts as a lock for preventing sliding movement between the tubes 4 and 14. It is a simple matter to adjust the two tubes 4 and 14 with respect to each other by first manually depressing the button 20 to free it from the opening 21 in which it had been received and then sliding the two tubes 4 and 14 with respect to each other to either increase or decrease their collective length. I provide similar adjustable locking means between the tubes 3 and 13, the tubes 9 and 18, the tubes 1 and 7, and the tubes 11 and 16, see FIGURE 1. The adjustable locking means will be generally indicated as B in all of these places.

The base frame A adjustably supports two hand rails, a shorter length one being indicated generally at C, in FIG- URES 1 and 2, and a longer length one being indicated generally at D. The shorter length hand rail C is formed from the larger diameter tubing that is in the shape of an inverted U. The hand rail C is disposed at the left hand side of the base frame A and has a longitudinally extending hand grip portion 22 and two depending parallel portions 23 and 24. The lower open end of the large diameter tubular portion 23 slidably receives upturned smaller diameter end In of the tube 1 while the lower open end of the larger diameter tubular portion 24 slidably receives the smaller diameter vertical tube 6. The hand rail C can be adjusted as to the distance between the hand grip portion 22 and the tube 1 of the base frame A and then secured in adjusted position by the locking means B, shown in detail in FIGURE 4.

The tube 23 of the hand rail C has an end of a smaller diameter tube 25, welded thereto so that the tube 25 will extend at right angles to a plane that is formed by the three tubular portions 22, 23 and 24 of the hand rail C.

The longer length hand rail D, has its ends supported by the transverse tube 25 and an L-shaped tube 26, see FIGURES 1 and 2. The tube 26 is of the larger diameter and it has a vertically extending portion 26a that slides over the smaller diameter vertically extending tube 10. A rounded corner 26b in the tube 26, lies between the vertical portion 26a of the tube and a horizontal portion 260, the latter portion paralleling the tube 25 and being positioned the same height above the tube 9 of the base frame A, as the tube 25 is positioned above the tube 3. Another locking means B, permits adjustment of the tube 26a on the tube 10. The long hand rail D has an elongated tubular portion formed from a larger diameter tubular section 27 that has an open end for slidably receiving the adjacent end of a smaller diameter tubular section 28, see FIGURES l and 2. A locking means B secures the sections 27 and 28 together so that their effective length is the same as the effective length formed by the interconnecting tubes 11 and 16 of the base frame A.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show the larger diameter tubular section 27 of the longer hand rail D, as having a downwardly extending portion 29 and a transversely extending portion 30, the open end of the portion 29 slidably receiving the adjacent end of the transverse tube 25. A locking means B secures the portion 30 to the tube 25 in adjusted position so that the effective length of the combined tubular portions 25 and 30 is equal to the effective length of the two interconnected tubular portions 3 and 13. Also the smaller diameter tubular section 28 of the longer hand rail D, has a downwardly extending portion 31 and a transversely extending portion 32, the open end thereof being slidably received in the adjacent end of the larger diameter horizontal portion 26c. A locking means B, secures the two tubular portions 260 and 32 together in adjusted position and the effective length of these two portions should equal the effective length of the two tubular portions 9 and 18 of the base frame A.

FIGURE 2 shows my adjustable hand rail attachment applied to a double bed indicated generally at E, and a double mattress F. The shorter hand rail C has its tubular leg portions 23 and 24 adjusted on the smaller diameter vertical tubes 1a and 6 so that the transversely extending tube 25 that is carried by the leg 23, will overlie the top of the mattress F, at the head of the bed. Also the L- shaped tube 26 has its tubular leg portion 26a adjusted on the smaller diameter vertical tube 10 so that the horizontal portion 26c of the L-shaped tube will overlie the top of the double mattress F at the foot of the bed. The base frame A is adjusted for proper size and is then placed on top of the double bed E and under the double mattress F. The mattress acts as a weight for holding the base frame A in place.

The bed sheets and blankets, not shown, are applied to the mattress F, before the device is placed in position. The tubular portions 25 and 30 will extend transversely across the bed from one side thereof up to the middle of the bed. A pillow, not shown, normally covers these tubular portions 25 and 34 The other tubular portions 260 and 32 extend transversely across the foot of the mattress from the one side thereof up to the mattress midpoint and will overlie the bed sheets and blankets, not shown. This will position the longer length hand rail D at the middle of the mattress and the vertical tubular portions 29 and 31 will dispose the hand grips sections 27 and 28 at the desired height above the top of the mattress. It is possible for the crippled person to occupy the left hand portion of the double bed and make use of the two hand rails C and D for moving his body. The other half of the double bed can also be occupied by another person and the device will not interfere with his use of the bed.

In FIGURES 3 and 5, I show my device removed from the bed and placed on the floor in a different position so that it can be used by a cripple in exercising his legs while holding on to the device with his hands. The shorter length hand rail C is placed on the floor and this will place the tubular portions 10 and 26a also on the ground. The longer length hand rail D, now is positioned at the top of the device and it parallels the tubular portions 11 and 16 that now form the top side of the upened base frame A which lies in a vertical plane rather than in the horizontal plane shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The device is stabilized and prevented from tipping over by two foot boards G and H, shown in FIGURES 3 and. 5. Each base board carries two spaced apart studs 33 that extend through similarly spaced apart openings 34 in the tubular portion 1a, seee FIGURES 1 and 2, and spaced apart openings 35 in the tubular part 10, see FIGURES 1, 2 and 5. Nuts are mounted on the threaded portions of the studs 33 and temporarily secure the foot boards G and H to the device.

FIGURE 3 shows the ends of the foot board G projecting beyond the hand rail C and the base frame A, while the ends of the foot board H project beyond the tubular portions 26a and 10. These foot boards will steady the device and prevent it from tipping over when in use. The

person using the device can enter it through a passage provided by the space between the tubular portions 260 and 32 and the tubular portions 9 and 18, or through a passage provided by the space between the tubular portions 25 and 30 and the tubular portions 3 and 13. The long hand rail D composed of the tubular portions 27 and 28 cooperates with the opposite parallel tubular portions 11 and 16 to form a walk-way from the patient who may be advanced in age or be partially paralyzed. The other parts of the device illustrated in FIGURE 3, have already been described and need no further detailed description. The hand rail D, and the parallel tubular portions 11 and 16 may be raised or lowered.

The device when used in the manner shown in FIG- URE 2, can enclose the mattress F or could be enlarged to enclose the mattress and box springs, not shown. The rail composed of the tubular portions 260 and 32 can keep the bed clothes in proper position.

I claim:

1. In combination:

(a) a base frame adapted to be disposed beneath a mattress and having two elongated sides;

(b) a shorter length hand rail extending above the mattress top and being connected to one side of said base frame; and

(c) a longer length hand rail extending above the mattress top and having supporting members overlying the mattress, one of said supporting members being connected to said shorter length hand rail and the other supporting member being bent to extend from the top of the mattress and having its end connected to said base frame.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, and in which (a) said base frame is adjustable to vary its length and width; and

(b) said longer hand rail being adjustable as to length.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, and in which (a) said supporting members for said longer length hand rail are adjustable as to length so as to adjust the distance between the shorter length hand rail and the longer length hand rail.

6 4. The combination as set forth in claim 1, and in which (a) said shorter length hand rail is adjustable as to height; whereby the supporting member that is connected to it can be adjusted with respect to said base frane to accommodate the thickness of the mattress; an

(b) the bent portion of said other supporting member can be adjusted as to length so as to dispose the mattress overlying portion of this member the required distance above said base frame to accommodate the thickness of the mattress.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1, and in which (a) said base frame has telescoping portions for adjusting the width and length of the frame;

(b) means for securing the telescoping portions in adjusted position;

(c) said shorter length hand rail having parallel depending portions with a telescopic connection with upright portions extending from said base frame to permit adjustment of said shorter hand rail;

(d) means for securing the telescopic connection of said shorter hand rail in adjusted position;

(c) said longer length hand rail having telescopic portions for permitting it to be adjusted as to length; (f) said supporting members for said longer length hand rail having telescopic portions for permitting said longer length hand rail to be moved toward or away from said shorter length hand rail; and

(g) means for securing the telescopic portions of said supporting members in adjusted position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,722,693 11/1955 Wolf 5331 3,290,701 12/1966 Luff.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 5-100 

